Frozen
by petey L
Summary: Dean and Caleb are sent off on a hunt in the bitter North Dakota winter. What will happen when the freak of the week decides to sink his teeth into Dean? Brotherhood AU
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody. This is just an idea I had for another story. It's going to start off with only Dean and Caleb but I'm going to introduce some other main characters into the later chapters. For some reason I seem to only have a talent for writing pre-series fics. Oh well, this one is set Stanford era so no Sam in sight. Unfortunately I own nothing and never will.

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Dean Winchester's eyes opened slowly, and his sluggish mind hurried to catch up. No matter how hard he looked all he could see was white. White and crimson, that was it._ Cold. Why I am I so cold? Why am I here? Hunt. I was on a hunt. Did we kill it? Caleb, where's Caleb? I need to get moving. Can't stay still got to find Caleb._ No matter how hard he tried, he could not get his frozen limbs to comply.

The forest was deadly silent around him. The only noise that could be heard was the snow falling gently onto his broken body. Dean wasn't sure what scared him more, the fact that he couldn't move, or the fact that a part of his mind didn't want to. _Caleb will be fine. He knows what he's doing. God I'm tired. He won't mind if I take a nap will he? Fifteen minutes is all. No one will notice. It's kind of warming up. Goodnight Caleb. See you in a few, man._ Dean fell into the welcoming embraces of unconsciousness.

Caleb was really starting to worry. It had been close to an hour since that thing had gotten Dean. T was supposed to be a routine hunt. Caleb and Dean were up in North Dakota taking care of something for Bobby. Caleb didn't blame the older hunter for sending them. If he had a choice, he would get the hell out of this frozen wasteland. Unfortunately there was nothing routine about this hunt. They were after a Skwask. Apparently Bobby, and all the research they could find, failed to mention that Skwasks were about the size of polar bears. Very large, pissed off polar bears.

One minute they are stealthily walking through the woods, bitching about the weather, the next they are being jumped by a Skwask. Dean shot first, and he managed to wound it. Thanks to his Winchester luck, it became really mad at Dean. The Skwask tackled Dean and started doing some damage with its claws. Caleb tries to line up a good shot without hitting Dean but the Skwask kept moving. He managed to get off a couple more shots, but he kept missing the kill zone.

Then the Skwask did the unthinkable; it grabbed an unconscious Dean in its teeth and ran into the forest. Caleb went chasing after it gun drawn. He followed the crimson pathway laid out before him. _Crap! That's blood. That can't be good? IS it Dean's? Shit, better not be. If it is, he's probably bled out by now fuck. Where are you Deuce? _

Caleb kept running full speed and barely noticed the large white mound in the snow. His hunter skills kicked into full gear as he approached what he believed to be the Skwask. It didn't make sense to him. _Why is this thing just lying here? Oh hell yes! I think that's a kill shot. Way to be Deuce! _After performing a cursory examination of the scene, Caleb noticed that there was only one body there.

"Dean! Dean can you hear me?" Caleb yelled at the top of his lungs. Secrecy be damned. Night was falling, the temperature was dropping, the snow was picking up, and Dean was bleeding. Caleb needed to find him now. Unfortunately, silence was the only answer to his call.


	2. Lost and Found

I haven't updated this story since God knows when and for that I am truly sorry. Now that college ha started I think I have the opposite of writers block. I just can't stop writing. Anyway, I have chapters for all my stories being beta'd as we speak so expect massive amounts of posting from me in the near future. All standard disclaimers apply here.

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Night fell over the lush white landscape, and it brought colder temperatures. Gone were the few hints of warmth. They were replaced by a fierce and freezing wind. What was left of Dean Winchester didn't notice.

The hypothermia and blood loss had dulled his senses and left him unconscious. A slowly growing pool of crimson formed around him in the snow. His mind had long stopped working, and all he could do is lay there slowly dying.

Caleb was really starting to freak out. _Shit! Shit! This is so not good. Blood loss plus probable hypothermia plus whatever the hell it did to him earlier equals bad. I need to find him now! God John is so going to kill me for this. Ugh more getting yelled t by that idiot, then hell probably make me do some over the top training exercises. _

His mental rant continued for a few seconds as his eyes swept the surrounding area._ Okay if Dean isn't here then that means a) he got up and walked (or something) away or b) something else got him. _At that second, he saw a faint trail of crimson leading away from the carcass.

As he followed the bloody trail Caleb said aloud, "This wasn't what exactly what I had in min but thanks anyway Deuce," hoping that someone could hear him.

He continued walking, and the snow continued falling.

Eventually Caleb came to a small clearing in the woods. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed the red snow. A bloody pool was forming around a Dean sized lump in the snow. Incredibly terrified of what he might find, Caleb inched forward. Eventually he reached the small mound. He stuck out his hand, hesitant to touch whatever may be lying there. Using his gloved hand, he dug through the snowy pile. What he saw before him brought him to his knees.

Caleb screams could be heard far away echoing a single word, "Dean!"


	3. Problems

Hey everybody. Sorry for not updating in a while. Between a huge macroeconomics paper and a new college writing assignment every other week, I've had no time for working on this. Any way, lets get back to the story shall we? All standard disclaimers apply. Also watch out for a touch of language (hey, its Caleb's fault not mine!)

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Caleb's heart stopped for a beat as he saw what was left of his best friend buried beneath the snow. Dean's skin was whiter than the snow. He wasn't moving, and the front of his jacket was stained a foreboding crimson. He snow around the younger hunter was dyed to match.

"Please be there Deuce, come on," Caleb said as he slipped his fingers out of his gloves and pressed his fingers into the icy skin of Dean's neck. At first there was nothing. A deathly stillness invaded the surrounding landscape. Nothing in the forest moved as Caleb dug his fingers in further in a desperate search for life.

After what felt like the longest minute of his life, he finally felt a faint beat beneath his rapidly freezing fingertips. "Thank God," Caleb muttered as he started to peel back the layers of protective fabric so he could see what he was dealing with.

All the air was sucked out of his lungs as he saw what had become of Dean's flesh. His upper torso was savagely ripped apart. Caleb barely avoided throwing up his dinner all over his friend when he noticed something worse; Dean was torn up but he was barely bleeding. _Shit! He's turn to hell, but he's not bleeding? That's not good, definitely not good. He's not shivering either. Ok think! He was obviously bleeding earlier so he's hypothermic, shredded to hell, and has lost a lost of blood. Just fuckin great!_

He quickly shrugged out of his jacket, and wrapped Dean in it. _Damn it's cold, but he needs it more than I do. Okay I need to get him warm now!_ Just then something sparkly caught is eye in the snow. _My phone! We're going to need some help on this one._

With increasingly numb fingers Caleb dialed the number from memory. Finally, after the third ring, the phone was answered and he said, "We got a big problem out here."


	4. Icy Threats

Any locations I used are purely fictional (to the best of my knowledge).

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John hesitantly picked up his phone. He had just spent the day researching a hunt, and he was tired. He waned nothing more than to tell whoever was calling to fuck off so he could get some sleep. When he saw Caleb's name flashing on the screen, he started to get worried. _It's nothing he's probably just calling to say that he finished up the hunt._ By the time the third ring cut in, he decided to answer the phone.

Before he could get a word in edge wise, Caleb hurriedly said, "We got a big problem out here."

'What constitutes a big problem? Did you two get lost out there or something?"

Caleb swallowed the lump in his throat and shakily replied, "It's Dean he-"

"What happened?!"

"The Skwask got him. He was bleeding really badly and by the time I found him, he's really cold John. God I don't know what to do!"

"Okay Caleb, take a deep breath and calm down," John said trying to soothe the nervous young man on the line. _Panicking is not going to help either of them. Skwasks are not something to mess with. They're a pretty straightforward kill. How did it get the drop on Dean?_

"Calm down? I don't think you get it Johnny boy. He's not shivering, and he stopped bleeding basically. Medical stuff is Mac's department but it doesn't take a doctor to know that's bad. So don't you tell me to calm down!"

"Caleb! I get it! Dean is in a bad way and you are freaking but you panicking is not going to help either of you. You need to get my boy somewhere warm right now. Can you do that?"

Caleb drew in a shaky breath and refocused on his friend. He eventually replied, "We're a good walk away from the car and I didn't see any buildings in the area. I'll see if I can get him back there."

"Okay good. Where are you?"

"We're in the Northern Macabe woods just outside of Densville North Dakota."

"Okay I'm headed your way. I'll call Jim and Mac and have them meet you up there. I think they're somewhere near Bobby's. I'm in Montana so ill be arriving later."

"Yeah, okay."

"Just get him safe Junior or you don't want to know hell I'll do to your ass."


	5. Warming Up

Hey everybody! Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed, it really made my day to hear that some of you like my little attempts at writing. Anyway, I'll get back to the story.

Till next time….

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It felt like he had been walking for hours. Caleb reeves was stumbling trough the woods in the dead of winter in the middle of North Dakota. Dean still hadn't woken up so Caleb was stuck carrying him back to the car. _Way to be so frickin heavy deuce. Seriously man, when we get back you are laying off the cheeseburgers for good._ Night was coming on fast and Caleb could feel the icy wind picking up. His body gave an involuntary shiver as the wind stole some more of his precious body heat.

The fact hat they were near he car was the only thing keeping him going. He had wrapped his coat around Dean since he clearly needed it more. Feeling had left his fingers a long time ago, and the pins and needles were steadily creeping up his arms. _Where is the car? I don't know how long I'm going to last out here. Lets face it if something happens to me, Dean is toast. I don't know if he's even still alive, but I promised John I was going to get him out of here, so that's what I am going to do._

After another half a mile of walking, the sight of the snow-covered car came into view. Never a religious man, Caleb silently rejoiced and praised God at the marvelous sight of the vehicle. A vehicle with heat, and that would keep them out of this wind.

He wasn't sure how it happened, but the next thing Caleb was conscious of was reaching for the door handle of the dark blue sedan. Caleb willed his frozen appendages to obey his commands and stop shaking long enough to get the door open. With some effort, he opened up the rear door, and hoisted Dean inside. He tried to be careful, but in the end he ended up dumping his friend across the backs eat. Dean didn't make a sound when he impacted with the chilled leather. Caleb dug his cell phone and the car keys out of his coat pocket, and then slammed the car door shut. A small mountain of snow fell off of the roof at the sudden vibration.

Caleb carefully lowered himself into the front seat and turned the car on. _I should let the car warm up a minute before I crank the heat. The last thing either of us needs is some cold air blowing on us. _After five minutes, Caleb turned the heater up as high as it would go, and settled back into the drivers seat, enjoying the warm feeling that enveloped him.


	6. Hanging on

Hey, I'm back. I'm sure you're all anxious to hear what happens so I'll just cut to the chase.

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The occupants of the lone vehicle trapped in a blanket of white had slipped into an uneasy silence; one due to unconsciousness, the other anxiety. Caleb was sure Dean was warming up a little bit, but it wasn't enough. He needed help now. He was so focused on what was left of his friend, that he almost missed his phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Caleb? Where are you?" Mackland Ames answered in a tentative voice. He was beyond worried about his son, and the young man who was practically family.

"We're okay Dad. I got us back to the car, but we're stuck in too much snow to drive out of here," Caleb replied, trying to soothe his father's nerves.

"How's Dean?"

"He's…. He's not good dad."

"What exactly is wrong with him?"

"For starters he's definitely got a bad case of hypothermia, plus the Skwask took a chunk out of him. HE was bleeding pretty badly earlier, but it pretty much stopped."

"Damn it that's not good."

"No shit. How far out are you guys?"

Caleb heard a hint of conversation over the phone before his father replied, "We're still about an hour away. Do you think you can hold out that long?"

'I'll be fine Dad. I don't know about Dean but I've got the heater on as high as I goes so I'll see what I can do."

"All right Caleb I'm going to tell you what to do and I need you to do this do you understand? You need to keep Dean alive till we get there understood?"

"No need to tell me twice Dad, what do I need to do?"

Caleb carefully listened to, and mentally jotted down each one of Mac's instructions and did his best to carry them out. He was already worried about Dean, but the way Mac had spoken had spooked him further. It was weird being stuck in a confined space with the unconscious and incredibly injured form of his best friend but he stoically endured.

Time flew by inside the warm, enclosed space. Caleb had stopped looking at the clock after five minutes had passed to slowly for his liking. All of the sudden, he heard the sound of tires crunching over the snow. HE cleared off the window and looked over the snow-covered field that was once a gravel parking lot. He saw the bundled up forms of his father, Pastor Jim and Bobby rushing towards them.

Caleb sent up a silent prayer and had to hold back the tears as he whispered, "Hold on Deuce, help is here."


	7. Help is Here

I just want to say thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story. It means a lot to me to know that people appreciate my attempts at writing. Ok, chick flick moment over. Keep in mind my medical knowledge is limited so some of this may be incorrect. On to the story.

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_Previously: __Caleb sent up a silent prayer and had to hold back the tears as he whispered, "Hold on Deuce, help is here."_

Caleb tried to get his arm out from under Dean so he could open the back door of the car. At some point he had moved into the back set with Dean and Dean was lying with his head I Caleb's lap. Dean was still unbelievably pale, and he was barely breathing. Sometimes Caleb had to lean over just to make sure Dean was still breathing. Those few moments when he wasn't sure if his best friend was still alive were some of the scariest moments in his life. Dean had yet to regain consciousness, and his face appeared calm and peaceful.

Right after Caleb opened up the door, the face of his father appeared in the door well, with Pastor Jim right behind him. Bobby wrenched open the other back door. All three men were captivated by the image of a seemingly dead Dean lying on his best friend. Caleb just stared at his father with a slightly dazed expression on his face. He had sat alone in silence for so long that it felt weird to have another person there. Originally he tried turning on the radio, but all he got was some weird old people music and static. He quickly decided that silence was the best option. The cold wind blowing in from outside was also biting his skin. He had been in his little world of warmth for so long he had forgotten that it was so cold outside.

Finally Mac's voice broke through his haze, as his father rested a hand on his shoulder and said, "You okay Caleb?"

He stuttered for a second then forced out, "Yeah Dad, I'm okay. Dean's the one you need to worry about."

"All right, let me take a look."

Mac did not like what he saw. Dean's lips were a pale shade of blue. _This is either a sign of cyanosis or stage two hypothermia. It's obvious that he has entered one of the later stages of hypothermia, and he seems to be having some trouble breathing so I can't tell which is the cause._ His skin was pale where it was not covered in dried blood. The visible injuries he had sustained were mostly superficial, but some appeared to be a much bigger problem.

Caleb knew what to expect when Mac peeled back the few jackets and blankets Caleb could find, but the other three men had no clue what to expect. While Mac checked Dean over with a detached sense of urgency, Caleb saw Jim and Bobby slightly recoil and share worried glances.

"How is he doing Macland?" Jim whispered from his position slightly outside of the car. He loved Dean, and it broke his heart to see the boy in such a state. The fact that he appeared comatose was not helping either.

Mac straightened up outside of the car and rubbed a hand across his face. HE then answered, "He's still severely hypothermic, but most of the wound appear to just be superficial. The main concern right now should be warming him up. Everything else can be dealt with afterwards.

Bobby finally chimed in with, " All right then, let's get these boys out of here."

Pastor Jim supported Dean's head while Mac grabbed Dean by the shoulders as they pulled him out of the car. Caleb helped guide his friends limp body out. Eventually Dean's boots dropped into the snow with a dull thud. Bobby came around, and picked up Dean's feet and proceeded to help Jim carry the boy into the waiting vehicle.

Caleb was in the process of getting out of the car when his father approached, and helped him stand up.

"Are you okay Caleb?" His paternal instincts were kicking in and he was worried about his son. His moving was awkward and stiff and he'd barely said anything since they got there.

'Yeah dad, I'm fine, just a little stiff is all. Sitting in a small space in the same position for a while will do that to you."

"All right then, lets et you in the car."

With that both the Ames men turned and walked towards their ride to civilization and warmth.


	8. Cold as Ice

Hey readers, what's up? I have zero medical knowledge so anything used here is probably incorrect (i.e. any medical personal reading this please don't start hating on me).

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_Previously: __With that both the Ames men turned and walked towards their ride to civilization and warmth._

All five men were piled into the SUV and headed into the nearest town. Bobby was driving, with Jim riding shotgun. Caleb sat in the middle row, and Mac had Dean laid out across the back row as he attended to get a better picture of his injuries and warm him up some more.

Shivers racked his frame as Caleb stared out the window. The white washed landscape whipped by in a dull blur. He was trying not to focus on Dean. It was a pretty hard thing to do. _It's pretty hard to ignore your half dead best friend. Hell, he's more than that. I've known him for at least 15 years now. It's so weird to think of him as a kid, but that's basically what he is. He's barely into his 20's and now he's dying two feet away from me, and I'm sitting here doing nothing. Great friend I am._

He didn't notice Jim was speaking to him until he felt a hand land on his shoulder. When he was finally able to comprehend what was going on around him, he heard Jim say, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah sorry just spaced out there for a sec." _They already have enough o worry about with Dean. I'll be fine once we reach the motel or hospital or where ever we're headed._

"All right. Were you two boys staying anywhere close or are we going to have to get a room?"

Caleb could just picture Dean smirking at Pastor Jim asking if they should get a room. He thought about it for a second then reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He handed it to Jim and said, "We already got a room don't worry about it. It's room 15 at the Sun Rise Inn in Densville."

"I saw that as we came in, that's about 10 minutes away," Bobby added.

"Okay," Caleb dispassionately replied as he turned and went back to staring out he window. He continued to shiver. _God why am I so cold? Probably because I went romping around in a forest in the middle winter in North Dakota. That might do it. _

Eventually the SUV rolled up to motel, and Jim ran ahead and opened up the door as everyone else carried Dean in. They laid him down on the bed farthest from the door and heaped every blanket they could find on top of him. Mac rushed back out to the car and came back with the med kit.

Caleb sat down on the edge of the other bed, feeling utterly drained. He was determined to stay awake at least till he knew Dean was going to be okay. Jim and Bobby were awkwardly hovering as Mac produced a thermometer and took Dean's temperature.

Everyone in the room held their breathe as Mac looked at the results. Those breaths were quickly replaced with feelings of terror and dread as Mac stared at the thermometer and said, "Crap! That is not good."


	9. Two Patients

Hey everybody! Again, I have zero (ZERO!) medical knowledge so anything used here is what I found on Google or the all mighty Wikipedia.

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_Previously: __Everyone in the room held their breath as Mac looked at the results. Those breaths were quickly replaced with feelings of terror and dread as Mac stared at the thermometer and said, "Crap! That is not good."_

Caleb stared at his father. He knew Dean was pretty screwed but the way his father was acting was not helping anything. To make matters worse, he was still freezing, his vision was acting up, and he was tired as hell. The stunned and terrified silence in the room was starting to get to him. The only person moving was Mac, who was furiously trying to get Dean warmed up.

Caleb eventually found his voice and said, "Dad, what's wrong?" It sounded way too feeble and scared for his liking but there was nothing he could do abut it now.

The tone of his adopted son's voice made Mac stop what he was doing and stare at Caleb. He sounded exactly like that scared twelve year old he took in all those years ago. He looked his son straight in the eyes and replied, "Caleb, I'm not going to lie to you. Dean is really sick right now. If you had waited any longer to get him into the car he probably would have frozen to death. His body temperature is so low that his body has started shutting down."

From his position by the wall Jim could see just how cared Mac was. If the doctor was that terrified, it couldn't be good be good for his patient. He eventually asked, "What is his temperature?"

Mac sighed before answering, "88.2 °F. Clinical death usually occurs around 86°F or below. Is a hospital an option?"

Jim glanced down at the floor, feeling like he was condemning the boy who was almost his son to death at his words. He whispered a quiet, "No."

"I was afraid of that," he sighed, and then continued, "All right then. We're going to have to try and warm him up gradually. If we do it too quick he could die."

Caleb finally spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper, "So he's going to be ok then?"

"He'll need some serious work but he should be okay in the end. Mac took a good hard look at his son as he said that. He wasn't acting like himself. Whenever Dean was hurt Caleb was always making some stupid sarcastic remarks to keep Dean's mind occupied. On the occasion that Dean passed out, Caleb was a nervous wreck and would not sit still. Now he was quiet, with drawn, and just sitting n the bed. Mac focused even harder and he noticed, the paleness of Caleb's skin, and the slight shivers still wracking his frame despite the overwhelming warmth in the room.

Mac knelt down in front of his son and said, "Caleb are you okay son?"

"Yeah Dad I'm fine. I'm a little sleepy but that's it," he whispered back.

A slight frown crossed the Doctor's face. He went back and retrieved the thermometer fro the other side of Dean's bed. Before Caleb could mutter a word in protest, Mac had the dreaded device in his mouth. Now that it was in, all he could do was sit there and wait. Eventually, it beeped and Mac took it out of his mouth.

Mac gave Caleb a disapproving glare and said, "95.8 °F is not fine Caleb."

"What I'm not dying or anything. Dean needs your help more," he replied.

Jim had sat by curiously watching the exchange between the Ames's men while Bobby had taken care of trying to warm Dean up some. Jim found an extra blanket and put it around Caleb's shoulders. He looked up at Mac and said, 'He's right Mac, Dean needs your help more. I'll keep an eye on him, and you worry about Dean."

"Thanks Jim."

"No need to worry Mackland."


	10. Awake

Hey guys thanks for the helpful tips about my writing. I'm going through and doing a little bit of editing on some of the previous chapters. It's slow going so I'll tell you guys when everything is retouched. Thanks again for reading. Oh, and sorry for the cursing. It's not my fault Dean has such a bad mouth….

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For the first time in a long time, Dean's groggy mind registered the fact that it was warm. He was freezing, but he was somewhere warm. He was laying on something soft, bundled in layers of fabric that didn't feel anything like his old coat or the powdery snow. It was an odd sensation. He was so used to be being cold that it almost seemed wrong to be warm. _All right Dean you can do this. You're obviously not outside so its recon time. Where the hell am I?_

Dean managed to crack open one eye. It was barely more than a slit, and his vision was blurry. Blinking a few times, Dean finally began to recognize shapes out of the blurry haze. There was an old wooden door, a worn old table with two matching chairs, and something that looked like a big rectangular box. Looking to his right, he saw something with glowing red shapes that vaguely looked like numbers and a bed. His heart sped up as he realized there was a person-sized lump on the bed.

Every cell in his body screamed at him to get up, and neutralize the threat. Hunting instincts came in handy, and had saved Dean's ass numerous times. Having spent half his life locked inside a motel room, Dean's weary mind easily recognized his surroundings as yet another crappy motel room that was acting as "home" for tonight. _Home, what a load of bullshit. I haven't had a home since I was four. Yeah I have a room and stuff at the farm, but it's not mine, not my family's. It's Pastor Jim's, not the Winchester's._ Fighting his body's demand to just go back to sleep, Dean tried to push himself up and be ready to fight if the situation called for it. No matter how many times Dad had told him otherwise, Dean always knew that motel rooms were not as safe as he wanted them to be Just because your door has a lock on it doesn't mean something can't get inside. He was living proof of that.

Dean gathered his arms underneath him, and tried to push himself up. He made it about half way up before his shoulder started throbbing in pain. In true Winchester style, he pushed through it and found himself balancing on a mattress on his hands and knees with a mountain of blankets weighing him down. The extra weight was crushing him and his vision was graying out around the edges. After barely five seconds, his elbows and his arms started to shake with exertion.

Dean fell back on the mattress with a loud smooshing noise. The fall jostled his already tender shoulder and chest. Before he could stop it, a groan of pain pushed its way out of his mouth. Suddenly the thing on the next bed started moving. He could hear noises, and see something moving, All of he sudden a bright light filled the room. Dean quickly snapped his eyes shut to avoid having his eyes burned out of his head. His breath started coming out in harsh pants, as he gingerly slid his eyelids open a fraction. His hearing was still a little off and if he was going to defend himself from this thing he needed at least one working sense. Somewhere in the haze of confusion and panic, he heard a familiar voice say, "Dean! You need to calm down!"


	11. Open Eyes

Hey everybody. I'm finally getting around to wrapping this story up. Still working on an ending, but I promise you it will be good. Thanks for being patient and not killing me when I take forever to post a new chapter. Finals are a bitch. All standard disclaimers apply here.

Caleb was trying to get some sleep for once. It had been a long day. Mac made him spend the whole day in bed even though his temperature went back to normal by the middle of the day, just in case. Then of course there was Dean, lying there practically comatose in the next bed. He hadn't woken up, moved, or said anything. It was really starting to freak him out. If Mac didn't tell him that Dean was breathing, he would have sworn that he was sharing a room with a corpse. It was well past midnight and all Caleb waned to do was sleep. All this anxiety was taking a lot out of him. Mac had wanted to stay it he room with them, but somehow he managed to convince his father to at least get a few hours of sleep. This whole ordeal was really taking a lot out of his father, and that was just compounding Caleb's worry.

From somewhere within his dreams, he thought he heard a rustling noise, but he just brushed it off. When a groan reverberated though out the room, Caleb knew something was up. He quickly sat up and looked across the room at Dean's bed. Even in the dark he could tell that something was up. The covers were bunched up around his legs and he was breathing heavier than he had been before. He could have sworn that Dean was awake. He reached over and switched on the old, dusty lamp on the nightstand between their two beds. Looking over at Dean's bed he could tell that was freaking out. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he was squirming. One of Dean's eyes barely slid open and seamed to be staring straight at Caleb.

Seeing those hazy pools of green stole Caleb's breath away. He had been so worried that Dean was in a coma or dead or something despite Mac's copious reassurances. His heart sped up a bit as he watched Dean squirm and try and move. He could tell that his friend wasn't going anywhere, but it still freaked him out to see Dean so weak like that. His father's wishes be damned, Caleb pushed himself up and was at his friends side in less than a minute.

He kept trying to calm Dean down but nothing was working. Dean's eyes zoomed around the room, not settling on anything, just letting everything sink in. Caleb didn't have to read his best friend to know what he was thinking. His voice came out as a half whisper but he said, "Chill Deuce. It's going to be okay. Everyone's okay, you're okay. We're in a motel. Your favorite place, remember?"

At that last statement Dean's eyes settled on Caleb's face and Caleb could have sworn his friend was staring into his soul. Dean always had that power to see exactly what was troubling a person. He would push aside every personal desire or ounce of pain if it meant being able to help someone else.

Those hazy jade eyes blinked a few times but never lost their focus. Dean's mind finally caught up with body. His eyes were still kind of fuzzy, but he would have recognized his best friend anywhere. His hunting instincts started to shut down. _If Caleb is here it's ok. He's got it covered._ Dean eventually got his mouth to work. He tried to speak but all that came out was a harsh whisper, "Caleb?"

Caleb nearly fainted when his best friend spoke his name. "Yeah Deuce. It's me. How you feeling man? Your ass almost ended up as a popsicle."

Dean stared up at Caleb quizzically. The attempts at humor got lost in the traffic jam of information I his head. He replied, "C-C-Cold and s-sore. What happened?"

"Shit man you scared the crap out of me. I think the freak of the week decided to make you a snack. Don't worry I killed it. Anyway, you decide to bleed all over the place then take a nap in a snow bank. Not smart Deuce. I then got the fun experience of dragging your ass back to the car. Lucky us it was stuck so I called Mac and the gang. They showed up and haled our asses back here."

Dean struggled to absorb all the information. The last thing he remembered was walking through a snow-covered field. He had a couple of flashes of being warm space with Caleb, but he rest of it was lost to him. "M-Mac's here?"

"Yeah man, Bobby, Jim, and Johnny too. Shit I should probably tell Dad you're awake. He'll kill me if I don't. Stay put." With that, Caleb walked through the door connecting the two rooms. Dean's muddled mind heard some quiet whispers being exchanged, then Caleb walked back through the door followed by a tired looking Macland Ames.

The doctor had finally slipped into a deep sleep, after tossing and turning for hours when Caleb had woken him up. At first he had been angry but when his son told him the good news, he couldn't get up quick enough. He hadn't told anyone but he was secretly terrified. Dean wasn't making the progress he had hoped and the doctor had serious doubts as to whether the boy would survive this ordeal. Hearing the Dean was awake had dashed those depressing thoughts and replaced them with cautious optimism. Mac took a good look Dean as he entered the other room. Dean had started shivering again which was a good sign. The only problem was now Dean's body was trembling almost violently. Dean's eyes were open, but he didn't seem to looking at anything in particular. He was lying somewhat on his side beneath the pile of blankets. Mac stepped into Dean's line of sight and said, "hey Dean. Nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"C-Cold Mac," was the only reply he got.

"I'm going to take your temperature quick ok Dean?"

Before Dean even got a chance to answer, the doctor had inserted the dreaded device into his mouth. Hs strength was rapidly fading, and he had to actively fight to keep his eyes open. Instead of wasting any more of his precious energy, Dean just decided to let it be. A full 60 seconds later, the thermometer beeped and Mac took it out of his mouth. He tried to focus on what the doctor was saying, but his brain had other plans. He managed to catch snippets. His tired mind heard Mac say, "Still cold ….. 91.8°F…. stage 2 hypothermia.." With that, Dena drifted off to sleep again.


End file.
